The warehouse worker also sent naked pictures of the 25-year-old victim to eight other people in private messages- nearly four a half years after they split up. It’s this phenomenon, and the green tinge of the Arab Spring, that is inspiring Facebook to make this more of a regular occurrence.

Now Facebook is giving people a tool to leverage this tiny billboard. Facebook tells TechCrunch that this feature is being developed to make it easier for people who like to use their profile pictures to support a cause, commemorate milestones like anniversaries or birthdays and even support their favorite teams. It lets you choose a set number of hours, days or weeks before your old selfie returns at the top of your Timeline page, and should make the process of throwing your digital weight behind a cause that little bit easier. The image will remain in your album of profile pics so everyone knows how good a person you are, and no news story will be published when the picture reverts.

I received a report of the feature from one of TechCrunch’s readers (thanks Suki B aka @ForkToPen), and when asked to confirm the sightings, Facebook admitted it’s testing the feature with a small number of users, and hopes to roll it out more broadly in the coming months.

Those who receive the feature will be able to see an option to set an expiration date when they select a new profile picture.

When the picture switches back, the change isn’t shown on the News Feed, so it should also cut down the Facebook update clutter that normally appears whenever a particular movement, sports game or Internet meme winds down. The idea is that by setting a temporary picture, you can express how you’re feeling at the moment and then have it revert back to normal when appropriate.